Lakewood Memorial (9 page)

He grinned and did it again. A louder,
longer creak came.

“
Crap,” he said, then
slammed his foot down a third time. His leg slipped further down
the hole and a loud clatter came from below the
bathroom.

“
Shit,” said Brooke,
rushing over and pulling Dalton up by the shoulders. “Are you
okay?”

“
I'm fine,” said Dalton,
wriggling away.

Brooke knelt and looked down the hole.
“What's down there?”

“
The basement,” said
Maylee, leaning over next to her. “And he's right. If he just
kicked the duct off, that hole goes straight down to
it.”

“
Right,” said Brooke.
“I'll go down.”

“
What?” laughed Dalton.
“You can't fit.”

“
I'm the adult,” said
Brooke. “I'll take the risk.”

“
You're not an adult,”
said Maylee.

“
I'm the closest thing
we've got!” yelled Brooke.

“
You won't fit!” yelled
Dalton.

“
Neither will you,” said
Maylee. “I'm skinnier than you are.”

“
You have
boobs.”

Maylee flashed red. “You little freakin'
perv!”

They all stopped yelling. The groans from
outside the door had been steadily getting louder.

Brooke listened, then looked at Dalton and
Maylee. “We have to be quiet. They can hear us in here and there's
no reason to make them any crazier.”

“
You...won't...fit,”
whispered Dalton.

Brooke looked at the hole, then at Dalton,
then at Maylee. Then back at Dalton. “Shit. This is insane. If you
got down there, could you get outside?”

Dalton nodded. “The door locks from the
inside. I can get out and into the backyard.”

Brooke sighed. “Fine. You get as far away as
you can and get an adult.”

“
No,” whispered Dalton,
looking shocked. “I'm getting the phone so we can call
Mom.”

The phone rang again. Maylee sighed and
leaned toward Brooke. “We can distract those things. Make noise so
he can get the phone then get back to the basement.”

Brooke looked at Maylee
and swallowed.
She's
scared
, Maylee realized.

The phone stopped ringing.

Twelve

Angie snapped her phone shut. She felt like
crying.

Freeda put a hand on her shoulder. “I'm sure
they're fine.”

They were both sitting on the nurse's desk,
facing the doors. Corpses groaned and clawed at each of the three
glass planes.

“
Dead, huh?” said Freeda,
staring at them.

“
Yeah,” said
Angie.

“
So Jimmy was dead the
whole time?”

Angie nodded and bit her thumb.

“
Damn.”

Angie dropped her hand. “Yeah.”

“
Dammit,” said Park,
walking in from the empty hallway. “Moe looks awful. We have to get
out of here.”

Mr. Paulson chuckled from his wheelchair.
“And take him where, numbnuts, the hospital?”

“
We know how to kill
them,” said Park, nodding at the corpses clawing at the glass. “Why
can't we just make a run for it?”

Kristen shook her head and adjusted the
oxygen tube on Mr. Paulson's face. “We couldn't move Dad that
quickly.”

“
Or your friend,” said
Freeda.

“
Then we need guns,” said
Park.

“
Yeah,” said Mr. Paulson.
“A wrecking ball and a fucking helicopter would be nice
too.”

“
Now, Dad,” said Kristen.
“They're just trying to help.” She stroked his head.

“
Get your fucking
over-lotioned hands off of me,” Mr. Paulson grumbled, twisting his
head away. “Point is, we don't have any guns.”

“
I've got guns in my
truck,” said Park.

Sam, who'd been sulking against a wall,
stepped toward Park. “Great. The truck in the parking lot? If we
could get to the parking lot, we wouldn't be having this
conversation.”

“
No,” said Park. “We all
couldn't make it, but one or two of us might. Get some guns back
here, then we can use them to clear a path for the
others.”

Sam shook his head. “This is crazy.”

“
Yeah,” said Angie, “but
it's better than nothing.”

“
How would we even get to
the parking lot?” said Sam. “The hallways are full of those
things.”

“
Watch,” said Park. He
fished his lighter out of his pocket and stepped over to the door.
He flicked it on and held the flame to the glass. The corpses on
the other side backed away from the flame. “Noticed this in the
parking lot. These things don't like fire."

Sam looked at the lighter, then at Angie.
"You said you think we just have to damage the brain, right? I bet
fire would kill these fuckers, too. Cook their brains."

Park nodded. "Maybe we can rig up some
torches or something to hold them back.”

Angie pushed herself off the desk and walked
over. “You'd just set off the sprinklers and end up wet and eaten.
And besides, there's another way out.”

She walked over to a utility closet and
opened it. Inside were a mop bucket, some gloves and a chain to
turn the light on. She grabbed the chain and pulled. Park walked up
behind her.

“
Ok,” said Angie. She
looked up and found a leather strap hanging from the ceiling of the
closet. She pulled and a wooden ladder unfolded downward. She
stepped back to let it connect to the floor.

“
And where's that go?”
said Park.

“
The roof,” said Angie.
“To allow work crews quick access to the lights up there. And not
only that. There's another, metal ladder attached to the side of
the building for the same purpose. And it goes right down to the
parking lot.”

“
Well fuck-a-doo,” said
Park, looking at the ladder and nodding. He stepped back into the
room. “Okay. Looks like we're taking the roof.”

Angie walked over to Park. “I'll come with
you.”

Sam laughed. “No offense, but you'll need
someone tougher than...”

“
Hey, funny story,” said
Park. “Remember about fifteen minutes ago when she pounded one's
head in while you shit your pants?”

Mr. Paulson laughed. “I love that
story.”

Sam went red. “Listen, I don't trust this
prick to come back even if he does get to his damn truck.”

“
We don't have time for
this,” said Angie. “I have no idea if my kids are in trouble or
not. We have to get out of here!”

Sam turned on her. “And what's stopping you
from bolting home the second you get outside?”

Park made a growling noise. “Listen,
dickburger, my friend's in that room back there...”

“
Well, my wife's here!”
said Sam. “So I guess we'll both be coming back.”

Angie opened her mouth, then looked at
Freeda. Freeda was looking at the floor, her hands clenched
together.

She stepped over to Freeda. “You ok?”

“
Yeah,” said Freeda,
looking up at her. “Just make sure you get back quick.”

Angie looked at Freeda, then over at Park
and Sam.

“
Hey,” she said. “Let Sam
go with you. I'll stay. Your friend will need Freeda and me to look
after him. Maybe the two of us will add up to a real
nurse.”

Sam shot her a look.

“
Whatever,” said Park.
“Let me go check in with Moe, then me and dick-face'll make a run
for it.”

Thirteen

“
Are you sure about this?”
said Maylee, peering through the hole in the floor. “I can't see
jack or squat down there.”

“
I'll be fine,” said
Dalton, standing impatiently next to her. “I'll be able to find my
way to the door.”

“
And then you run to a
neighbor's,” said Brooke, next to the sink.

“
Are you crazy?” said
Dalton, looking at Brooke. “You saw it out there. The neighbor's
won't be any safer.”

“
I just don't like this,”
Brooke said.

“
Me either,” said Maylee.
“But he's the only one who would even sort of fit.”

“
And there's an old ladder
down there,” said Dalton. “I'll get the phone, sneak back up here,
then we can call Mom.”

“
And the cops,” said
Brooke.

“
Shit, the army,” said
Maylee.

Brooke sighed. “Okay. We'll bang on the door
and keep them all distracted. You get into the kitchen, get the
phone, then get back up here.”

Dalton nodded and smiled.

“
What're you so happy
about?” said Maylee.

“
You guys are doing my
idea.”

“
Whoopie-doo,” said
Maylee, smirking. “Get in the hole.”

Dalton stepped over to the hole
grinning.

A woman outside the door groaned, loud and
gurgling on some kind of fluid. Blood, Maylee figured. Maybe bile.
It sent a cold spasm up Maylee's back.

Both she and Dalton stopped smiling.

“
Let's go,” said Brooke.
“And please, be careful.”

Dalton sat next to the hole and put both
legs down it.

The scratching outside the door grew louder.
Maylee looked at the door and frowned. “Are there more of them
now?”

“
God, I hope not,” said
Brooke.

Dalton put his palms on the floor and eased
himself down into the hole. He got to just above his waist and
stopped.

“
Uh-oh,” he
said.

“
Uh-oh what?” said
Maylee.

“
I can't get past here,”
said Dalton.

“
What?” said
Maylee.

“
Oh crap,” said Dalton. “I
can't go up, either. I'm stuck.”

The groaning from outside grew louder.

“
Ok, wait,” said Brooke,
stepping up. “Don't panic.”

“
Crap,” said Dalton,
looking around. “Where's the groaning coming from?”

“
Outside,” said Maylee,
grabbing hold of Dalton's arm. “Same as before.”

“
You sure it's not from
under me?” said Dalton, real panic creeping into his eyes. “Oh god,
I gotta get out of here.”

Loud moans came from behind the door.

“
I can hear them down
there!” yelled Dalton, struggling.

“
They're outside,” said
Brooke. “Just hang on.”

Maylee pulled. Dalton wouldn't budge.

“
Ow!” yelled
Dalton.

“
Shit!” yelled Maylee,
letting go. “What happened?”

“
You hurt my arm,” said
Dalton, rubbing it.

Maylee sighed. “Damn it, I thought something
bit you, you little shit!” She balled up a fist and bopped Dalton
on the top of the head.

There was a “pop” and Dalton slid further
down the hole.

All three of them screamed.

“
What the hell happened?”
yelled Dalton.

Maylee noticed a small shirt button at the
corner of the room and let out a sigh. “It's okay. It was just a
button coming off your shirt.”

“
Oh,” said Dalton, “Okay.
Then...”

And with a fast series of “pops” Dalton slid
the rest of the way down the hole. Dalton's chin smacked the side
of the hole on the way down.

“
Dalton!” yelled Maylee as
he vanished from view. A crumpled “whump” came from under the
room.

Maylee dropped to her knees and looked
through the hole. In the small rectangle of light the hole
provided, she could see Dalton's head. He was on his back, facing
the ceiling. His eyes were shut.

“
Dalton!” yelled
Maylee.

Dalton didn't move.

Groaning and scratching came from outside
the door.

Fourteen

Park pushed open the door to the roof and
cursed under his breath. Moe had looked bad. Real bad. He paused on
the ladder, smelling the night air and listening. He heard groaning
and smelled rot, but nothing that seemed close by. That was good.
If the corpses could climb up onto roofs, Park and the others would
be extra fucked.

"See anything?" said Sam from behind him on
the ladder.

"The sky," said Park, then climbed the rest
of the way up onto the roof.

Up here, Park could smell the rotting
corpses and hear their groaning even more. It sounded like the
fuckers were everywhere.

He stepped away from the opening and Sam
climbed up after him.

"Damn," he said, rubbing his arms in the
cold air. "Fucking stinks up here."

"Aren't you just full of useful
information?" said Park. He turned around, scanning all corners of
the roof, trying to get his bearings. Finally he stopped and
pointed. "The most light seems to be coming from that way, so I'm
betting that's the parking lot."

Park strode that direction, not bothering to
check if Sam was following him.

Damn it, Moe had looked bad.

They reached the edge of the roof and looked
down. It was indeed the parking lot. A few corpses were wandering
around, but it looked like most of them had already crowded their
way into the hospital.

"Damn," said Sam as he looked down. "Seems
high from up here. Doesn't this place only have the one floor?"

"Yeah," said Park. "There's probably
ductwork and crap between the ceiling and the roof, too, though.
Adds several feet. Plus, you're a pussy."